rosiehinge

Friday 24th September was our final evening this year for dinghy training, as the nights are getting darker.

There was not a lot of wind but that was made up for by the enthusiasm of all the young sailors. They had lots of fun swimming and messing about on the water!

This years Dinghy Sailing Camp at Cotehele from 17-19th August was a huge success with two nights away proving to be very popular.

Day One – sail to Calstock for lunch and back down to camp at Cotehele for an evening BBQ.

Day Two – sail up to Morwelham Quay for a special order of home-made pasties at the Ship Inn and then a motor up to the weir at Gunnislake in the dory and an outboard equipped Wayfarer. This was followed by “Mud Games” back at camp with an inflatable shark and then a BBQ and camp fire to round off the day.

Day Three – “Weir Quay Olympics” organised by Alan and Katherine Duncan followed by a gentle sail home.

Thanks to Sue Coomber for organising the camp and to Matt Newton for coming over on the train on Thursday to make up the Safety Boat crew.

Also to note is that Morwelham Quay is now welcoming visiting boaters if they come to the Ship Inn for refreshments.

The weather was kind to us on Saturday 26th June when a convoy of club members sailed over to Cellar Bay at the mouth of the River Yealm for our annual Mid-Summer BBQ on the beach.

It was the height of Springs, so some of us had to choose our anchoring places rather carefully to find enough depth of water!

It was just so nice to be able to spend time together and to have this opportunity to socialise once again after the cancellation of so many club events due to COVID over the past year.

Last Saturday, 5 of the larger club dinghies set off with the tide and a reasonable wind at about 10am to navigate the twists and turns of the River Tamar on a voyage to Calstock.

The trip was a great success and several young sailors and their parents joined the group,  along with some older sailors!

The weather was great, not too hot and no rain.  However, the winds were quite challenging, as they varied in strength and direction depending on where you were on the river. 

Caroline and Katherine Duncan arrived with sandwiches to help feed the hungry crews when they arrived at Calstock and of course the much awaited ice creams made a welcome break before the return journey.

All were safely back at Weir Quay by 5pm. 

The boats were shadowed the whole way by Steve Kirby and Matt Newton along with Matt’s Dalmatian dog, Dappy, in the safety boat. It’s clear that the trip couldn’t have gone ahead without them, so a big vote of thanks is due to the three of them! 

Queens Harbour Master Plymouth has published a Notice to Mariners 034/21.

This states that a project to regrow seagrass has commenced in the vicinity of Jennycliff Bay in Plymouth Sound.

Additional information can be found at https://oceanconservationtrust.org/project/remedies-project/

To protect the beds whilst they are establishing, mariners are requested not to anchor, lay marks or pots in the southern part of Jennycliff Bay within the area outlined by the orange polygon on the chart extract at Annex A.

These photos were taken by our Social Secretary, Steve Hipsey from his yacht at Weir Quay yesterday. Steve and a number of others in the Tamar Safety WhatsApp group observed 3 jet-skis travelling along the river at speeds far in excess of the 10 knots allowed, swerving in and out of the moorings and endangering both kayakers and swimmers. The incident was reported to the MOD Police by several members of the group along with photo and video evidence they had gathered from Cargreen, Weir Quay and Calstock. The MOD police intercepted the 3 jet-skiers when they returned down-river and were very glad to have received the statements and evidence. This was a great example of teamwork from those who want to ensure the safety of all who enjoy waterborne activities on the River Tamar.

In an attempt to reduce this type of anti-social behaviour, the Port of Plymouth have asked all jet-ski (also known as Personal Water Craft) owners to join their registration scheme before using their PWCs on any waterway under their jurisdiction. Prior to registering, owners must have read and understood the PWC code of conduct and other local legislation. It is hoped that the majority of PWC owners will take part in this scheme. In the meantime, Tamar Safety will continue to monitor the situation and report dangerous activity when it is observed.

The club Friday evening dinghy sessions started again and we had a lovely evening on the water yesterday.

There was a good turnout that included a number of new members who have joined the club this year.

We look forward to having even more dinghy sailors next week!

As you may have been aware, Weir Quay Boatyard was recently put on the market.

It has now been announced that the Boatyard has been sold to a local family with strong boating interests and a passion for the local area.

The Acland family will be taking over WQB and retaining all the staff and will be led by father and daughter team, Harry and Georgie.   They have an exciting vision of maintaining the ethos of the working boatyard whilst improving the services offered to both the mooring holders and locals over the long term.

We have been informed that, going forward, it will be very much ‘business as usual’ with some interesting developments in the offing which will become apparent in the future.

Please join us in welcoming the Aclands and sharing their enthusiasm for the future of the Boatyard by offering your support where you can. They have already joined Weir Quay Sailing Club and will be keeping their Scow “Topsy” in the Hub Club Boat Park.

Ian Kilpatrick has been rummaging in his archives and found a fascinating video from 2003-2004 showing the club in action!

The video runs for 10 minutes and shows our members in their dinghies and yachts out and about on the water locally. There is also a section with a gathering of Classic Yachts that are moored at Weir Quay.

If you would like to have a copy of this video, please contact me and I will happily e-mail it to you. rosie@dhamarinedesign.co.uk

Rosie Hinge

Tel 01822 841734

For anyone wishing to better understand the Brexit issues for boat owners, the Cruising Association has created an informative Webinar that makes worthwhile viewing.

Brexit Issues For Cruising Sailors Addressed in RATS Webinar | CA (theca.org.uk)